Seedrs is an online
equity crowdfunding
Equity crowdfunding is the online offering of private company securities to a group of people for investment and therefore it is a part of the capital markets. Because equity crowdfunding involves investment into a commercial enterprise, it ...
company, headquartered in
East London's Tech City, founded in 2009 and launched by Jeff Lynn and Carlos Silva in 2012. Since 2022 it has been a subsidiary of American crowdfunding company
Republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
.
In 2020, Seedrs announced that 250
startups
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses t ...
had raised funding through its
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
platform during 2019. By 2022, Seedrs reported that over £1.9billion had been invested through the company.
History
The company was founded in 2012 by Jeff Lynn and Carlos Silva as part of an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
project at the
Saïd Business School
Saïd Business School (Oxford Saïd or SBS) is the business school of the University of Oxford. The School is a provider of management education and is consistently ranked as one of the world's top business schools.
Oxford School of Management ...
at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
In March 2012, Seedrs raised $1 million in
seed funding
Seed money, sometimes known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor invests capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' su ...
from private investors including
venture capital firm
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which hav ...
Draper Esprit
Molten Ventures, formerly Draper Esprit, is a venture capital firm, investing in high growth technology companies with global ambitions, with offices in London, Cambridge and Dublin. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent ...
.
In May 2012, Seedrs became the first equity crowdfunding platform to receive regulatory approval from the
Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulation, financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The ...
.
In July 2012, Seedrs launched its platform to the public.
In November 2013, Seedrs raised £750,000 in funding through its own platform.
In June 2015, professional tennis player
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray h ...
joined Seedrs in an advisory role, having previously used the platform as an investor.
In June 2017, Seedrs launched a
secondary market
The secondary market, also called the aftermarket and follow on public offering, is the financial market in which previously issued financial instruments such as stock, bonds, options, and futures are bought and sold. The initial sale of the s ...
, becoming the first equity crowdfunding platform to allow investors to buy and sell shares in unlisted companies.
In August 2017, Jeff Lynn stepped down as
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
to take up a position as Executive Chairman. Former COO Jeff Kelisky was promoted to CEO.
In August 2017, Seedrs raised £4 million investment for
challenger bank
Challenger banks are small, recently created retail banks that compete directly with the longer-established banks in the UK, sometimes by specialising in areas underserved by the "big four" banks (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, and NatWe ...
Revolut
Revolut is a British financial technology company that offers banking services, but did not have a UK banking licence. Headquartered in London, it was founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko. It offers accounts featuring currency ...
.
In October 2017, Seedrs announced it had raised £10 million in funding.
In December 2018, Seedrs launched a venture capital fund aimed at passive startup investors.
In August 2019, Seedrs raised £4.5 million in funding.
In 2020, Seedrs and
Crowdcube agreed to a merger. This was abandoned on 25 March 2021 after the
Competition and Markets Authority
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the competition regulator in United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for strengthening business competition and preventing and reducing anti-com ...
raised concerns about the deal.
In December 2021, Seedrs announced that it had agreed to be acquired by
Republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, a US-based equity crowdfunding platform, for $100 million. The acquisition was criticised by some of Seedrs' small investors over preferential treatment given to large shareholders.
References
External links
*
{{Crowdfunding platforms
Equity crowdfunding platforms
Crowdfunding platforms of the United Kingdom
British companies established in 2012
2012 establishments in England
Internet properties established in 2012